DaVita Inc., a provider of kidney care services announced that it is collaborating with WM Healthcare Solutions, Inc., a subsidiary of Waste Management, Inc., and BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) to help a drive the launch of dialyzer recycling pilot in 106 DaVita dialysis clinics across Southern California.

In a release, Kent Thiry, chairman and CEO of DaVita, said, "We have the potential to offset 350,000 pounds of dialyzer waste in this trial alone, which is incredible because until now, there has not been a 'green' way to dispose of dialyzers or other medical waste. This pilot program has the potential to change the landscape of sustainable healthcare, particularly in the dialysis industry, and we are excited to be at the forefront of it."

The recycling pilot project slated to be the first of its kind in North America, leverages business solutions developed by BD and WM through the BD ecoFinity Life Cycle Solution program. DaVita will also be introducing the BD ecoFinity Life Cycle Solution program in its pilot facilities.

Ranjeet Banerjee, vice president, BD Medical-Medical Surgical Systems said that "This collaboration exemplifies BD's commitment to provide comprehensive solutions that help our customers reduce their environmental impact. As a leader in the medical technology industry, we continue to seek innovative sustainability solutions for our customers that do not compromise patient care or incur additional cost."

The BD ecoFinity program encourages the creation of a closed-loop waste recovery solution of the recyclable materials. To recover reusable material, devices such as needles and syringes will be collected, treated and processed by WM. The recycled plastic material will then be used by BD in the creation of new BD container products.

The dialyzer recycling pilot has been designed on similar lines - WM will collect, treat and process waste material to recover recyclable materials from the dialyzers. The recycled plastic will then be used by BD to create new BD products or products with different applications.

Mike McInerney, vice president of Waste Management Healthcare Solutions said that "WM's integrated environmental solutions increase value by managing materials more efficiently to help lower the costs for our health care customers, while maintaining safety and compliance standards. We are pleased to be collaborating with BD and DaVita to move forward our shared vision of safety and sustainability."

To applaud DaVita's on-going commitment in providing sustainable health care through the implementation of programs aimed at bringing down the company's environmental impact, it was recently recognized with a Green Leadership Award from BD at a World Environment Day celebration.

Calvin Azuri is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To read more of Calvin’s articles, please visit his columnist page.